Resident complaints target Seascape developer, county inspector

A group of residents in the Seascape development have filed complaints alleging that amenities were put in without permits and fail to meet building standards.

By Andrew DunnAndrew.Dunn@StarNewsOnline.com

A group of residents in the Seascape development have filed complaints alleging that amenities were put in without permits and fail to meet building standards.The developer of the luxury gated community near Holden Beach and the Brunswick County chief building inspector are named in separate complaints to state regulatory boards, filed last month.Neither has formally responded, and the investigations have yet to begin.But an attorney for the developer says that the complaint against the company is factually inaccurate and motivated by hidden agendas.That complaint, filed with the N.C. Licensing Board for General Contractors by a group of about 20 property owners, names developer Mark Saunders.His group, The Coastal Companies, built Seascape and several other developments in the county.It claims that the Seascape marina bulkheads and boardwalk, two gazebos and several other projects in the neighborhood were built without permits and that they still contain building code violations.Because of these, the residents claim a "pattern of willful disregard of state and local regulatory requirements."Coastal Companies general counsel Elaine Jordan said in a statement that the claims are inaccurate."A detailed response to the complaint, which was filed by property owners with their own hidden agendas and with apparent disregard for facts, will be submitted in the appropriate forum," the statement reads. "It is unfortunate, however, that a few misguided property owners seek to use the press and the limited resources of regulatory agencies to further their self-serving objectives."Susan Sullivan, complaint administrator for the licensing board, said the complaint had been received and assigned to Joel Macon, who also is the mayor of Carolina Beach, for investigation.The other Seascape complaint, filed with the N.C. Code Officials Qualification Board, names Delaney Aycock, the chief building official of Brunswick County.It states that he overlooked the code violations related to those projects.The complaint has been received and sent to the county, said Kerry Hall, spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Insurance, which oversees the qualification board.Aycock did not reply to requests for comment.